Carmilla, author J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s 19th-century vampiric romance, has influenced generations of dark-fantasy writers from Bram Stoker to Laurel K. Hamilton, and has been adapted for the screen many times, including Hammer’s The Vampire Lovers and Roger Vadim’s Blood and Roses. These days, Carmilla (and her friend, Laura) are the stars of a live-action Internet series produced in Canada by Vervegirl TV and sponsored by…tampon manufacturer Kotex. (Seriously—the press release says the 36-episode series will answer the question “Does a vampire have a period?”) The concept of this modern-day adaptation is that Laura is a student at a university, Carmilla is her new roommate (after Laura’s original roommate, Betty, mysteriously disappeared), and the four-minute episodes are vlog entries seen through Laura’s computer webcam.
If you’re a fan of the series interested in reading the source material for the series, or are a fan of vampire fiction who’s heard of the novella but never read it, then have we got a book for you! Carmilla is StarWarp Concepts’ most popular title in our Illustrated Classics line, and our edition features exclusive illustrations by Eliseu Gouveia, artist of The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1, Lorelei: Sects and the City, and Vengeance of the Mummy. Here’s the synopsis:
Before Edward and Bella, before Lestat and Louis, even before Dracula and Mina, there was the tale of Carmilla and Laura.
Living with her widowed father in a dreary old castle in the woods of Styria, Laura has longed to have a friend with whom she can confide; a friend to bring some excitement to her pastoral lifestyle. And then Carmilla enters her life.
Left by her mother in the care of Laura’s father, Carmilla is young, beautiful, playful—everything Laura had hoped to find in a companion. In fact, the lonely girl is so thrilled to have a new friend that she is willing to overlook the dark-haired beauty’s strange actions…which include a disturbing, growing obsession for her lovely hostess.
Carmilla, it seems, desires more than just friendship from Laura….
“The way Le Fanu blends together desire and predation is spellbinding. A true Gothic story, Carmilla is great fun.”—Gothic Beauty Magazine
“Carmilla is a must-read for any true fan of vampire fiction.”—LoveVampires.com
“Like many vampire romances, Carmilla and Laura’s love is doomed and unhealthy, but glorious.”—io9
Carmilla is on sale in print for $10.95 US; the e-book is $2.99. Visit the Carmilla product page for the sales links.
